Doctors and medical researchers have many ways to battle cancer. For most,
treating cancer requires a multimodality approach involving a combination
of various treatments. When deciding how to fight cancer, doctors take
into consideration a patient’s overall health, how aggressive the
cancer is, and the severity the side effects will have.
Cancer treatment can include:
Surgery – An effective form of cancer treatment is removing the affected
area before the cells have a chance to spread. In most cases, this should
be done in conjunction with other treatments to completely destroy any
lingering microscopic cancer cells. Surgery can also be used to diagnose
cancer or track how far a tumor has spread. Biopsies are the most common
diagnostic surgical procedure for cancer.
Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is a type of drug therapy to kill malignant tumor
cells. Chemotherapy is highly effective, but the medications have a difficult
time differentiating healthy cells from cancerous ones, resulting in them
killing both indiscriminately. Thankfully, medications and treatments
have been developed to help patients manage chemotherapy side effects.
Radiation therapy – This treatment is most often used when cancer is still confined
to one spot. The affected area is blasted with radiation that destroys
the cancer cells. Sometimes this therapy is enough to cure cancer by itself,
but most often it is used in addition to chemotherapy and surgery. Destroying
so many cancer cells at once helps ease the burden of the side effects
of the disease.
Hormonal therapy – Certain forms of cancer like prostate and breast cancer may be
spread more rapidly by the body’s hormones. Hormone therapy hinders
the production of these hormones to give the body a better chance at fighting
the cancer. This is a systemic treatment that can damage cancer cells
throughout the entire body.
Targeted therapy – One of the main issues in cancer treatment is that the methods
used to destroy cancer also harm healthy cells, resulting in detrimental
side effects. Targeted therapy uses techniques that specifically target
cancer and cancer alone. This form of treatment improves a patient’s
quality of life while fighting cancer.
Biological therapy – Your body’s immune system is one of the most powerful weapons
against disease you have. Biotherapy strengthens the body’s defenses
through antibodies, vaccines, and various proteins and nutrients. The
introduction of these substances teaches the body’s immune system
how to better fight cancer.
Stem cell transplants – This treatment is highly effective with minimal side effects.
Stem cells are “copycat” cells that take on the function of
the cells around them. Cancer is a constant battle between cells, and
introducing stem cells is a way to give your body extra soldiers to fight
the disease.
Find the Treatment That’s Right for You
The exact form a patient’s cancer takes differs from one person to
the next. Treatment needs to be customized to counteract the methods it
is using to hurt your body. Work closely with your doctors, tell them
your concerns about side effects and ask them about various types of treatments.
At Salinas Valley Health, our staff knows the importance
of listening closely to patients to create a treatment plan that will
best accommodate their lifestyle and recovery.
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